Videogame prices on the rise?

According to this story at CNN, videogame publishers are planning on raising prices for their top of the line offerings. As a matter of fact, these changes already reflect reality with popular games such as Doom 3 selling for slightly more than the usual $50 mark.

Consumers haven't exactly cheered the price increases, but sales haven't been affected. "Doom 3," for example, has topped the charts since its release in August. And 2002's "Warcraft III" sold over 1 million copies within three weeks of its release.

Publishers claim that the cost of developing a game nowadays is much higher than a few years or a decade ago. In the other hand however they do not seem to realize they have built a huge consumer base which has been loyal to them.

Not all big publishers are showing intentions to raise prices though, for example, Take Two Interactive announced on its latest quarterly earnings call that the highly anticipated "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas" will have a launch price of $49.95.